Will a Reboot for 'One Tree Hill' Be a Change for the Better?Wednesday, July 11, 2007

On one hand, the One Tree Hill finale was probably one of the best ‘series' finales ever made. It tied up just the right things, while leaving just the right things open and unresolved. Then it got renewed. One Tree Hill fans aren't going to complain about that fact, of course, but what to do now that the show must go on? Jump into the deep future, of course. A move that has some fans feeling a little unsteady, and for good reason.

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On one hand, the jump is a good thing. Much of the cast is way too old at this point to be playing their teenage counterparts. Another positive from a storytelling perspective that will come in handy is the opportunity to jettison tired story material, and begin with a new dramatic landscape with a backstory for us to explore.

This aspect could also be a double-edged sword. The options are: keep it the same and have audiences scratching their heads over the complete lack of growth, or change everything and leave disoriented viewers wanting a glimpse back at the five years in between.

It is perfectly plausible, of course, that the years following their teenage lives did become more and more mundane. Life does have a tendency to get a whole lot less melodramatic when you leave your teenage years behind. On the other hand, One Tree Hill is a TV show, and for there not to be major dramatic reshuffling would just be wrong.

One last consideration is the target audience. Does jumping the show five years ahead also mean that there is an effort in the writers room to come up with story lines that will resonate with an audience that is five years older? Some may say this process has been in effect since the show has been on the air.

Whether One Tree Hill sinks, swims, or soars after this major plot shift rests entirely on the artistic merits of the team that managed to keep it interesting this long. While it seems difficult to project just where things will go, they will no doubt give us an interesting ride on the way.